This vividly narrated account intertwines the lives of a group of men born at the end of the nineteenth century, revealing what life was like for homosexual actors in the Second Polish Republic and during the war years. The book exposes the inner workings of the theatre, cinema, and cabaret worlds, where themes of non-normative sexuality were subtly woven into performances.

The book’s fascinating protagonists include Pola Negri’s secretary, the son of a wealthy Warsaw architect, Eugeniusz Bodo’s lover, and the first actor to appear naked on the Polish stage. Their biographies are filled with great romances, attempts to conquer the capital, journeys to Paris and Hollywood, but also with dramatic events, from suicide prompted by unrequited love to a fatal heart attack suffered during a performance.

Did a Polish “gay lobby”, a powerful network of homosexual actors supporting one another, really exist? The answer can be found in this book.

moderator: Bartosz Żurawiecki

This description is taken from the website of Krytyka Polityczna, the book’s publisher.